Supervisors divide CCA ordinance and continue implementation items for two weeks

Supervisors on the Board of Supervisors’ Budget & Finance Committee moved on procedural changes to the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) proposal and continued key implementation items for two weeks.

Supervisor Amiano moved to divide the draft ordinance into two parts so the implementation plan could be considered separately from the implementing authority and oversight provisions; the committee agreed and the file was divided to allow separate sponsorship of each piece. “My office has talked to you authority and oversight,” Amiano said when proposing the split, noting the change was intended to let the committee discuss substance after the ordinance is approved as to form.

Supervisor Mercurini moved to continue the implementation-file (file 70502 as read into the record) for two weeks to permit the city attorney’s office to approve the text as to form; the motion passed without objection. Deputy City Attorney Cheryl Adams had earlier advised that items not approved as to form could not be considered in committee.

Supervisors debated where implementation and oversight responsibilities should sit. Several members supported naming the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) as the implementing agency while assigning an advisory oversight role to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). “LAFCO can advise PUC,” Deputy City Attorney Theresa Mueller said, adding that state law requires governance elements be included in the implementation plan but that separate ordinances may adopt different elements.

Supervisor Mercurini proposed that LAFCO hire a consultant to track PUC implementation, require the sequence RFI→RFP→contract review before execution, and direct that the PUC and consultant report back to LAFCO committees; the committee approved the motion without objection. Mercurini also asked that the implementing/oversight draft consistently recognize the PUC’s charter authority over energy supply in the ordinance text.

The committee took extensive public comment on CCA before and after the procedural motions. Dozens of residents and local advocates — including representatives from Garden for the Environment, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club — urged rapid implementation and strong oversight. Blair Randall of Garden for the Environment said the group “has served San Francisco’s only demonstration garden” for 17 years and asked supervisors to prioritize funding. Multiple speakers cited climate urgency and broad community support (one speaker reported thousands of handwritten letters and comments).

What’s next: Item 5 (the implementation statement of intent) was continued for two weeks to allow the city attorney to approve the draft as to form and to let the committee review the economic-impact report released that day. Supervisors requested the mayor’s office and the PUC be present at the next hearing; Amiano asked that the PUC budget not be forwarded out of committee until CCA discussions are resolved.